Do you have to be John Grisham to succeed at Blogging?

There are many articles on the net about successful blogging and there is a never ending stream of new recruits entering the blogsophere.

These new adopters eagerly search the how to pages of other bloggers in an effort to become a successful blogger.

The blogging craze and the competitive arena that it has become have bloggers scratching their heads in an effort to make their new venture a success.

For some, success as is defined as the tangible legacy of their cathartic journey.

This group seeks nothing more than to record their life and thoughts. They have no financial or political agenda other than their desire for self fulfillment.

As the internet evolves and socially engineered software becomes more streamlined, diarists have also evolved and for some, blogging has become their ticket to a new vocation and financial independence.
Blogs that have a high amount of visitors are able to monetize their web pages to an extent where the authors are able to generate enough income to derive a part time or full time living from their input.
For those desiring more than to see their diary online, the challenge exists to create content that satisfies their own literary standards but at the same time achieves populous standing.

The race to stand out from the blogging crowd has seen a multitude of online tutorials, e-books, educational courses, marketing plans and get rich easy programs bombard the web.

We no longer take much interest unless the author has something unique to offer us.

I have two friends who have their own web sites and self publish for a living.
One has an article archive of 17,000 posts and the other has an archive of 14000 posts.
One has been blogging for seven years and it took him five years before he was able to derive full time income.
The other was well established in his field before he became a self publisher.
He had a list of high profile contacts that provided exclusive information and this enabled him to establish his web site as a respected source of news in his field.

Their sites and interests are quite different but they both agree on one point.

There is no easy way to be successful. Content is king. If you desire success then you have to compile a body of works that has is both popular and voluminous. Be a John Grisham of your genre. Write all the time and learn to write what people want o read.
Quality, quantity and marketability are the key factors that never change.
I recently printed out all my articles and stuck the pages on the bookshelf behind my desk.
The small file looked so inconsequential next to the volumes of my favorite authors.
Like the rest of you, I have my work cut out for me too.

Is Amazon a godsend for publishers?

Publishers have entertained a rocky relationship with Google Adsense for the last few years.
Google has confused and frustrated us with their confusing rules handed out to advertisers and publishers.

Frustrated web site owners have endured lower click revenues, convoluted service terms and irrelevant advertising content in order to make a success of being a Google Adsense publisher.

In spite of its shortcomings Google has far outflanked the competition for advertising space.

Unlike the most of the competition, Google has won the minds of publishers with its "get paid for clicks" program.
Lately business for Google's Adsense program has reached
a plateau. Site visitors are clicking less. Google advertising revenue is flat.
Publishers are looking around for a new advertising revenue earner.

I recently joined Amazon as an affiliate.
Amazon is different to Adsense because visitors to your site have to buy something from Amazon in order for you to earn money.
Browsing an ad for further information and then closing the page will not earn you any money.
The task at hand may appear daunting but further examination reveals Amazon is a creative advertising tool that puts control of creativity in the hands of the publisher.
A few days ago I posted a niche article on Filipino music.
I was able to use one of Amazon’s ready made widgets to list a few of the CDs recorded by Filipino artists.
This widget brightens up the post and is totally relevant to the topic.
One of the most exciting aspects of Amazon is that you can enter the ad inside your actual post. The ad then appears only for that post which makes it ideal for Blogs. This is quite a different approach to Adsense where the ads appear on the side of all the pages.

What Are You Going To Do When The Recession Hits?

If it is not here already then it is on the way. I am talking about the world recession that is going to put a nasty dent in our lifestyle.

I am talking about the recession that will engulf our lives and threaten to repossess our mortgaged homes.

Share markets are tumbling. Blue chip businesses are still just hinting about what is to come.

An ill wind is brooding discontent. The leaves on the trees tremor in nervous anticipation.

How will you insulate your life against the wolf approaching the doorstep?

If you are reading this then you are already into blogging or reading blogs, or you are steeped into the digital world in some manner.

How will you survive the lifestyle change the next era will usher in?

When the cash reserves dissipate how will you improvise?

I will bury my woes by sinking further into the surreal world of my notebook pc.

As cash strapped citizen I will look for a better life in virtual games such as “Second Life”.

I will stuff my sinking share portfolio documents into the bottom drawer of my wardrobe and cover them with the happier colors of my sports socks.

I will become a superhero in the game of “Crysis” and use my powerful weapons to fight virus toting aliens who seek to take over our imminently recessionary world.
My world will be imaginary where reality is blurred.
Only the online world will exist and it will wash away the harshness

When the winds of discontent once again turn and leave us to return to affluence, I will once again draw the curtains across and gaze upon the new opportunities that await us.

Why I like Filipino Music.

It seems that my ipod is always playing Filipino music these days.

Whenever I visit a new country, I pick up a couple of CDs featuring local talent. I have done this all of my traveling life because as a music lover I am always searching for new and inspiring music.
In most cases these purchases get a couple of plays and then sit on the shelf gathering dust.
I think it is quite difficult to enjoy music that is foreign sounding to one who is not used to new rhythms and languages.
Folk instruments can sound harsh and untrained to ears that have never heard them before.
I find difficulty appreciating music from Thailand, Cambodia and The Middle East but that is not to say that that they don’t have fine musical heritages.
As an Australian my musical tastes have been always steeped into blues, country and jazz genres but Filipino music has somehow penetrated my senses and it ranks among my favorites.

My first encounter with Pinoy music was ten years ago. .I was holidaying in The Philippines in a place called Puerto Galera.
At night I switched on the radio to listen to the local talent.

The first song that made an impression on me was Halik by a band called Aegis. They were just starting their career and were storming up the charts.

I remembered the name and when I mentioned the band to a vendor, he produced a copy of the album on a cassette for me to purchase. That cassette got played to death over the years, right up until the time I replaced it with the CD version.

In 1998 I never really knew much about the band only that they were an all female rock band except for one member.
Their voices were fantastic and that’s all that I knew about them.

About a year ago I decided to look them up on youtube and I found a few videos featuring Aegis.
Damn it. They were so good and funny. I made up my find to see them next time I was in Manila.
I got in contact with their manager who gave me their gig dates and when I arrived in Manila I ventured out to the outer suburb of Las Pinas to see one of their shows.
They did not disappoint. Comedy clubs may seem like an unlikely choice of venues for a rock band but it was worth waiting around till they came on at midnight.

Before I forget here is a link to my Filipino Music Blog http://walletss.blogspot.com/

To be continued.

Self Censorship. Is It Necessary Sometimes?

A few years ago the responsibility for publishing and censorship rested with the mainstream media of newspapers, radio and television.
In a world where any one of us can publish to the masses, these responsibilities have been passed to us.

There are times when we want to express our thoughts and honest opinions on a particular topic that we have very definite opinions on.

The writer wants to be honest and to the point with his readers, but in certain instances the topic is explosive and embroiled in controversy.
At the least this honesty can offend others and at the worst it can lead to an escalation into violence.

I recently was involved in an online discussion where I put forward some rather forthright views on a particular topic. This topic concerned a country where I had spent some time and formed an opinion on.
Problems occurred when my comments aroused the ire of the Filipinos who were reading my posts.
My posts concerned my views on corruptive forces plaguing the Philippines.

I found myself shouted down because according to the contributors to the discussion, no foreigner could point the finger at the weaknesses and failings of their country unless he had experienced the hardships as an inhabitant.

I went to great lengths to explain that my posts were based on my own observations and experiences.
The overwhelming response from readers was that I should consider the ramifications of what I write.
I am the first one to admit that I tend to focus on the negative because it makes for interesting reading.

Do I have a responsibility to balance negative comments with the positive?

On one side I had my personal experiences and observations and on the other side I had the responsibility of not portraying The Philippines in a bad light. The fact is that I enjoy my time there and portraying the Philippines as a “no go” country to visit was not my intention.

It seems that there is a rule that foreigners do not have the right to criticize, and Filipinos simply do not like foreigners to make judgments.
Perhaps they are right?
The fact is that negative posts affect the standing of their country in international eyes and that the writer should consider the big picture.
Although my rantings would hardly cause ripples on a large scale, I can see that sometimes the enticement of writing something controversial should be balanced against the harm a foreigner can cause to industries such as tourism and international labor markets.

Internet Explorer Sucks Big Tme. Internet Explorer 8 Released.

I have been working hard on my Blog for the last three months and I don't have much time to waste with software that wastes my time.
Sadly Microsoft's browser Internet Explorer is doing just that and consequently I have now more or less switched to Firefox.

Microsoft's standards have slipped since Bill Gates lost interest in the company and Internet Explorer now languishes behind Firefox in terms of functionality.

It was only yesterday that I decided to make Firefox my default browser.

Currently I am spending all my spare time updating and promoting my Blog. There are a couple of sites that I spend hours on each day. One is entrecard and the other is twitter.
These are cutting edge sites and Internet Explorer cannot accommodate them.
The back button does not work on either of these two sites.

Hey Microsoft guys. .Have you fallen asleep?
Don’t expect any good reviews if you can’t fix your problems.

I remember downloading Internet Explorer 7 some time ago but it was so buggy that I had to reinstall Internet Explorer 6.
Apparently Microsoft is beginning to understand the depth of their problems because they have released Internet Explorer 8.
This browser has a compatibility mode. It seems a bit amateurish for Microsoft to have to have this feature at all.

Too Many Faulty Xbox Consoles

Last week I found myself with some extra cash in my pocket and decided to finally buy an Xbox gaming console.

There was a special advertised by Dick Smith superstores where the Xbox was packaged with a game and a power pack.

I had been holding off buying till a good deal came along.

The advertised package sounded tempting so I drove down to the nearest store branch and told the salesman what I wanted to buy.

The salesman checked the stock levels on the computer and went to retrieve one from the stock room.

He returned shortly and informed me that there were four units in stock but they were all faulty and had been returned by customers

When I asked if the Xbox 360 had a lot of store returns, he told me that they get lots of returns of faulty Xboxes.

I went back and did some more research on the internet and found similar comments from an EB Games manager who admitted that Xbox consoles had a much more hardware problems than Nintendo or Playstation.

The reason has now become clear. Microsoft does not own anything in the console.

Unlike Sony and Nintendo, where everything is 100% Sony and Nintendo respectively, the Xbox is a hodgepodge of different manufacturers bundled into a package that suffers from hardware compatibility issues.

Having heard these admissions from stores who have first hand knowledge, I decided that my six hundred bucks deserves better and I will hold off and buy a Sony Playstation or Nintendo wii as soon as a good deal comes along.

The Culture Of Corruption

“Why do you think the culture of corruption is so endemic in Philippine society? Is it because of poverty? Is it a Filipino culture?”



The culture of corruption is strong in other Asian countries not just The Philippines.

The cruel reality is that even though corruption is prevalent in countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, their economies and standards of living are advancing at a rapid rate.
The Philippines is not faring well under the same constraints.

The Marcos era has passed and yet somehow the people have been duped into falling once again for similar models. Estrada has come and gone. He is now free.
It seems Arroyo did a tradeoff with him for her power grab.
It still amazes me that Imelda Marcos is free.
The world outside The Philippines does not comprehend how a wicked and unrepentant first lady can be a free person after all that has transpired.

Poverty will always breed some degree of corruption. The only way to stem corruption at least among the lesser power brokers is to improve social resources.
This can’t be done if there is no money for social welfare and a turnaround is not going to happen any time soon.

There will have to come a point when revisionists see PP1 and PP2 as failures.

The way things are deteriorating PP3 is a forgone conclusion.
PP3 must see a complete restructuring of the administration. It must breed transparency and accountability.
No ifs and no buts.

MBK Department Store Bangkok. Be Careful of Being Ripped Off.

Some things never change. I remember years ago when Hong Kong was a great place to shop for electronics.
Vendors had a reputation for being cagey when dealing with tourists shopping for electronic bargains.
It seems similar practices still exist today and I found evidence of this at another famous shopping area in Bangkok.
MBK is a huge mall in central Bangkok that is well frequented by tourists.
The fourth floor of MBK is devoted to electronics and mobile phones.

At first glance everything seems fine. As you walk past the vendors and inquire about the products on your short list, you think you have found some bargains.
Prices of well known brand names are much cheaper here than in other places.
Well at least that is what you think until you return to one of the vendors who quoted you a really low price on that mp3 player.

You take out your wallet and are ready to handover your hard earned money and just before you hand it to the vendor, you ask to check the contents of the box.
When the box is opened you notice there is no charger or manual inside.


You think that maybe the vendor forgot to put the manual and charger back in the box but no.
The vendor tells you that if you want the manual and charger you will have to pay extra.
Your bargain has just gone down the drain.
You argue that the charger and manual are part of the product but the vendor slyly shakes his head
Be careful of vendors at MBK. If they can get you to hand over your cash before you check the exact contents, you will find yourself ripped off.
Not every vendor in MBK is dishonest but many will take advantage of you if you drop your guard.

Pinoys Fighting Corruption

Ok Pinoys. Let’s be realistic. You will not succeed in stamping out corruption by changing one corrupt administration for another.
I am trying to use some lateral thinking.

Why focus on the top hierarchy when corruption can be seen so easily in the lower echelons?

When do pretexts of being business minded give way to the realization that each one of us plays out his part in the grand scheme of corruption?

When does a bible reading Pinoy who is in a privileged position stop kidding himself into believing that god would understand he is only trying to survive?

What about when a schoolteacher complains about the administration but at the same time accepts bribes to give good marks?

What about when a policeman pulls up a taxi driver for a farcical on the spot fine and still wears his uniform with pride?
It is up to every single person to disentangle himself from the web before pointing the finger.
Corruption is only relative to positioning of power. The only difference between the above examples and The Philippine administration is the price.

Until Filipinos can resist the lure of ill-gotten rewards, even in the face of poverty, there will never ever be a better Philippines.

Airlines Ripping Off Customers.

I am getting a bit tired of the bad service I am getting from the airlines.
It is one thing to be penalized for mucking them around at the last minute, but why should a customer be penalized for mistakes that the airlines make?

Mileage Points, Frequent Flyer Points or whatever you want to call them is something that is earned by travelers and is not a gift or favor from the airlines.
I am a member of three frequent flyer schemes and have had arguments with two of them.

The first was with Thai Air. I was peeved when I found I was not credited some miles that were omitted from my account.
When I received the statement and noticed that miles were not credited for one of my trips, I rang them and was told that I had to send in my two boarding passes with a letter.

I informed them that I still had a copy of my ticket but only one boarding pass could be found but they refused to give me the full points credit.
Begrudgingly I accepted their decision and as luck would have it I later found the missing boarding pass and contacted Thai Air to claim the missing points.

They told me that it was too late to do anything about it.
I don’t why they felt the need to cheat me. As far as I was concerned I had sufficient proof but they preferred to deny me rather than offer me fair service.
I have never flown with them since.

More recently, I have experienced problems with Philippine Airlines.
Upon checking my online statement I noticed that they had also forgotten to credit me with some miles. I went through my file box and dug out the copy of the electronic ticket pertaining to that date.
I rang Philippine Airlines thinking all that was needed was for me to quote my ticket number to them and the missing miles would be updated on the phone.

According to the voice on the phone, this was not possible.
Instead I was advised to use the online facility to claim the points. I filled in all the missing spaces and then clicked return and promptly got an email from Mabuhay Miles.
The mail said that the online submission was not successful and I would have to print out a form and send it off to them, enclosing all copies of ticket and boarding passes.

At this stage I have located the copy of the ticket and three of the four required boarding passes. One boarding pass is still missing
I will post these off to Philippine Airlines on Monday.

Guess who will blow their stack if Philippine Airlines don’t give me full credit for the missing points?
One needs to bear in mind that the missing miles points was an error by them not by me and I have better things to do than be on the back foot for a mistake that was not mine in the first place.

Obese People To Pay For Two Seats On A Plane.

I have just come back from an overseas trip and endured eight hours on a plane sitting sideways in my seat.
The reason was that I was wedged between two tremendously fat guys whose torsos did not fit properly in their seats.

I was irritated when I sat in my designated seat and found myself seated next to the first very fat man.
I mean he was huge. His shoulders were so big that they overlapped six inches into my seat.
His flabby side bits were pressed into my side.
I never could have dreamed that a second similarly huge guy would take the aisle seat next to me.
Here was me stuck in the middle with these two fat guys with their blubber pushing into my body.

Do you think there was anything I could do to prevent this from happening?
Not a dam thing.

I anxiously called for a flight attendant and asked if there was an empty seat elsewhere on the plane, but the answer was no.

There was nothing I could do but spend the next eight hours twisted sideways at an uncomfortable angle while the fat guys on both sides invaded my confines.

Has the world gone mad?
Are the airlines too politically correct to say what needs to be said?

If obscenely obese people need to take up other people’s space on a plane, then force them to buy two tickets.
Weigh them as you would luggage. If you have reasonable limits for luggage then why not have weight standards for passengers?
I don’t ever again want to have to spend eight hours on a plane squashed by blubber and lard.
If the passenger is so overweight that he can’t sit in a single seat without spilling over into a second seat, then make him pay for two seats.
This is much fairer than forcing the regular sized passenger to subsidize these
hippos, by allowing them to invade your space.

Is Blogrush Worth It?

I have recently subscribed to Blogrush. The widget is now displayed on my blog. After watching their very impressive videos I decide to enlist the services of Blogrush in order to boost traffic to my site.

At first I was apprehensive because I have Google adsense ads on my blog and I didn’t want any drama from Google. As it turned out, Google does not expressly forbid the use of Blogrush so I have taken the opportunity to try it out.

The system works like this. You register and place a code on your blog. Blogrush monitors your blog and when it decides that your blog meets their minimum content standards your widget springs to life.

The widget consists of links to other blogger’s sites. When visitors come to your blog and see the widget they can click on a headline which takes them to another blog without leaving your page. This second blog is opened in a new browser. Each time this widget is loaded it will contain 5 clickable headlines that form part of their "Cooperative Syndication Network."

Traffic is stimulated by virtue of the fact that when a reader clicks on a link in the widget, the click is recorded and you earn credits.
You then appear on the widgets of other bloggers and hopefully they will find your headlines interesting and then click on your blog.
Syndication credits are earned based on the following formula: You earn credits on your own traffic using a 1:1 ratio. (One credit for each time the widget is served.) You then earn credits based on your referrals traffic (and their referrals traffic) through 10 generations of referrals based on the following ratios: 1st and 2nd generation (i.e. your direct referrals and their direct referrals) 1:1, 3rd - 6th generation = 1:4 ratio, 7th - 10th generation = 1:8 ratio. After all the math is calculated, there is a surplus of 1 headline space (5 spaces in each widget load) for every 10 that are served. So 10% of all the headline space is reserved for BlogRush itself to sell or use.

Is it working for me?
At the time of writing this post it is too early to say.
I joined Blogrush less than week ago so I will reserve my opinion till a later stage.

Buying a Laptop in Thailand.

There are pros and cons for buying notebook computers in foreign countries. Price and service need to be weighed up in order to arrive at a decision.

I have bought my last three laptops in Thailand even though I live in Australia.

These purchases have been made over a period of six years.

Why buy a laptop overseas?

There are plenty of models to choose from in Australia but manufacturers release different models in Asia compared to the Australian market.
It has always struck me that the Asian models are a better deal than the models I see here locally.
The first laptop I bought was a Fujitso Life Book.

This was an ultra mobile notebook that I liked so much when I played with in one of the shops in Pantip Plaza.
It was one thousand dollars cheaper than the price in Australia.
The reason for that was that ultra portable notebooks have never been a huge seller in Australia because consumers here do not have the problems of space constraints facing our Asian neighbors.

When I bought the second one four years ago it was the only the model that had a 512meg ram memory and an Athlon 2000 processor... It was a Compaq Pressario and it allowed me to play any game that was on the market at that time.
The notebook was not on the market in Australia. For some strange reason all notebook distributors here were selling notebooks with 256 ram memory.

My third notebook purchased in Thailand was an Acer Aspire 5580.which I bought about 15 months ago in Pantip Plaza.
It came with 512 ram but the service department upgraded it with an extra I gig of ram.
The service from IT City was great. They even tested out the latest games on various laptops so I could purchase the best configuration for my purposes.
I have always like gaming and thought it a waste of money to have a separate game console or desktop to handle the power demands of games.
The Aspire came with a Centrino Duo T5500 processor and a NVIDIA GEOFORCE 7300 Graphics card.
At the time of purchase this was a powerful configuration.
I only buy from stores that are part of the VAT refund scheme of Thailand.
I fill out a form get and get a VAT tax refund of 7% at the airport on leaving the country.

Asus Eee PC Not Underpowered

Don’t be fooled by the specs of Asus Eee PC. It is easy to under rate the power of the machine by judging it by the Celeron 900 processor which at first glance may seem underpowered.

I am an owner of an Asus Eee and now that I have used it for a few months I have come to realize that the processor works extremely well.

The Asus Eee does look a bit like a toy but looks can be deceiving.

My typical applications are running the Asus with tunes, downloading from limewire, transmitting streamed music to my Apple Airport Express and uploading my blog.
I can multi task all these without much problem because fortunately the Asus Eee comes with 512 meg of ram.
My preference is to run it with Windows XP rather than the Linux software that it came with it. If you are thinking about running Vista, you will find that it won’t work well.
The most telltale aspect of the Eee is the amount of scrolling that is involved.

In order to view the entire page, you are continually scrolling across and down.

I store all my applications on the internal 4 gig hard drive and on a 4 gig SD card which I leave permanently installed in the card slot.

Backup of extra files and storage is provided for by the use of storage are on my ipod.

The Swagman Hotel in Manila

When you are visiting a relatively dangerous city such as Manila, it is important to find a safe haven in a city that can be very unforgiving for the uninitiated.

The Swagman Hotel in Ermita gets thumbs up for one main reason.

It is a place of safe refuge for the Western traveler who doesn’t mind paying a bit extra for the services that The Swagman Hotel provides.

When I visited Manila the first time, I was advised by those who went before me to book a room at The Swagman Hotel and to use all their transport services.

Not wishing to have my vacation spoiled by unfortunate incidents that could have been avoided, I decided to heed the advice of experienced travelers.

The rooms at The Swagman are really quite poor compared to other hotels in the same area.

To be honest, I only stayed there once and soon found better places to stay.
The Swagman Hotel does have some other favorable aspects to it and these draw me back to as a regular stop.
They have a great coffee shop called The Outback Café and this Australian themed coffee shop has pretty good food although it is expensive by Philippine Standards.

The Philippines is not famous for their great food, so it is comforting to be able to order meals similar to what you would get at home.

The Swagman also offers their bus service to the airport, and for an expensive price, you can even arrange to have them pick you up from the airport on your arrival.

Taxi drivers in Manila can be aggressive and often take advantage of inexperienced tourists so my advice is to take advantage of their bus service and avoid the pitfalls of dealing with tax drivers.
Fly The Bus is a private bus line that has a base in The Swagman Hotel. The buses ferry visitors to the popular city of Angeles three times a day, and while you can elect to take public transport for less than half the price, the relative comfort and safety of Fly The Bus makes it worthwhile, especially if you have bulky luggage with you.
They provide free and reliable WIFI at their coffee shop.

Internet Connections on Long Plane Flights.

I want an internet connection on plane flights.
It seems that despite advances in technology, internet connectivity on airplane flights has not materialized.
They have been talking about providing internet connections on long plane flights for several years.
In the modern world there are not many places that you can’t find internet connectivity. Sadly plane travel has remained on of those places.

Qantas has publicized the fact that they will take delivery of some new planes this year which will have WIFI internet connectivity and also SMS technology.

If past experiments are anything to go by, then don’t hold your breath.
There have been previous test runs with other air carriers.

Boeing launched a foray into the market in 2004, and along the way signed up a number of big name carriers as customers, including airlines from Asia, Europe and North America.
The service was short lived with Boeing determining that the market for on board internet connectivity had not yet matured.
Virgin America and American Airlines have promised a series of test runs this year.
They will provide laptop internet access as well as webmail in their back seat entertainment section.


Let’s hope that the proposed internet service will not be another stalled attempt to revitalize the so far unsuccessful efforts to connect plane passengers.

One of the big negatives that the new adopters have to contend with is the effect terrorism has had on airline regulations.

Just how airlines will be able to connect their passengers in the wake of current terrorist
Incursions, is a question that remains unanswered,

Apple Airport Express Review. From A Guy Who Bought One

I know The Apple Airport Express has been around for a while but I have only recently bought one.

Initially I was going to spend a bit extra and buy The Apple TV.

The reviews of Apple TV listed too many limitations like lackluster file support for non-itunes video formats; oversimplified remote and no built-in DVD player.

I was put off by the lack of video formats that were supported so I concluded that at the end of the day it was more practical to hire a DVD from the local video store.

The Apple Airport Express on the other hand is a great product.

For those who love their music and want a product that delivers flawless wireless music from their itunes browser direct to their HIFI, then The Airport Express is perfect.

The compact unit is slightly smaller than a deck of cards and includes a 10/100 Ethernet port, an integrated 802.11g access point, a USB print server, and a mini stereo jack so that you can use to connect a sound system to your wireless network.
The Airport Express only works with itunes, but that’s fine with me because I am very satisfied with itunes
I recently sold over 1000 CDS and before I disposed of them I converted them to mp3s which are now stored on an external Hard Drive.
.
My music library has grown to about 20,000 songs and itunes can find a song in a second.
I find it very relaxing to stream my music from my laptop while I am propped up on the couch.
It beats rummaging through a heap of CDS looking for a favorite track.
I have no hesitation in recommending The Apple Airport Express as a music streamer.

Pirated Movies And Software In Asia

Pirated movies, games, software and even pornography are a huge industry in many parts of Asia.

Piracy is like a cancer. It seems there is no cure for it.

Record companies and Movie companies have millions to spend on anti piracy measures but they can’t seem to prevent piracy from flourishing.

When I travel to Bangkok, I like to visit Pantip Plaza, which is the major electronics hub of Bangkok.

I have been shopping there for many years and can bear witness to the huge amount of pirated movies, software, games and music that is being sold in Pantip Plaza.

About half of the five floor complex is devoted to the selling of pirated material.

The system works like this. There are dozens of small booths set up in the complex where the vendors display the covers of the DVDS.

The actual disks are kept in a different part of the building.

They have touts working for them. The touts entice the shoppers to browse the new movie releases. After browsing the movies for sale, the shoppers are offered pornography, games and business software.

The hottest item of software at the moment is Windows Vista.

It seems odd but many of the computer shops sell new computers without any operating system, and it is almost as if they are saying, don’t pay for a licensed operating system when you can get a working copy for pennies.

The sellers of pirated software at Pantip Plaza have their own network of security to warn their bosses of police raids.

Lookouts roam the lower floors of Pantip searching for police who are trying to catch the vendors red handed.

I asked a vendor if he was ever caught and he explained to me that the police can only prosecute if they catch you with the actual disks.

If you have the artwork covers but they can’t find the discs, then you have no case to answer for.

When a shopper places an order, he hands over his cash and told to come back in fifteen minutes.

The cost for a new release movie or software title is about two dollars

During that time, the pirated disks are brought over from some hidden location and then passed to the purchaser in a plain unmarked bag.

Pantip Plaza has been selling pirated material in this manner for years.

Amazingly the police never see fit to shut it down.

Dump Your Landline Phone And Switch To Wireless USB Modem

I am just about to dump my landline. For the last few months I have been thinking about getting rid of my phone line but have been concerned with service issues.


There is nothing worse than being stuck with a service that does not perform like you expected and this major factor that has deterred me from changing to wireless connections.

My setup over the last few years has been to have my modem upstairs with a router directing the signal downstairs to my laptop.
The setup has worked well but because I spend three months a year overseas, I am losing money on two fronts.
Firstly I have to pay $50 per month even when I am away overseas.
Secondly I am paying about $35 per month for my landline rental that I hardly use.

It would be better for me to cancel my landline, change my mobile to a slightly higher plan, cancel my broadband and switch to a wireless USB modem.

USB modems have been around for a while. I tried some about a year ago but they were slow and expensive.

Up until recently you had to buy a USB modem and then find a data plan to suit your budget.
It was an all too expensive solution, however competition has livened up and consumers are now presented with an affordable and efficient solution.

The 3 network in Australia have a plan that offers customers 2 gigabytes of mobile downloads for $29 per month.
If you elect to take the plan on a 24 months contract, 3will give you the modem free.
You can buy he modem for $299 and then avoid the contract.

Nothing beats word of mouth advertising and my friend who has been using it for the last month claims it is fast and completely reliable.

http://www.three.com.au/cs/ContentServer?subId=1156241342637&homeId=1154931041257&c=Page&pagename=Three%2FPage%2FServiceTemplate&p=1155054450837&cid=1178581421058

America Hotel. Best Value Hotel In Angeles City Philippines

Balibago in Angeles City has gained a reputation as a fun town.

Formerly a US military base, Angeles City has still retained much of its former wild image.

I have always found the place to be safe to visit, but only if common sense prevails.

A traveler needs to be vigilant about his security.

Bearing this in mind, I have stuck to one hotel over the last ten years and in my opinion,

the best value hotel in Angeles City is The America Hotel in Fields Avenue Balibago.

The staff has hardly changed over the last ten years. I know their names and faces and they know mine.

Not only does this create a friendly holiday atmosphere, it gives you some extra confidence in the security of your preferred accommodation.

When I lock my as away my passport and cash in the security box I feel confident that it will still be there the next day.

The America Hotel has free WIFI for hotel guests. They have a shaded area near the swimming pool and many guests bring their laptops to take advantage of the service.

Room rates start at about $25 US.

The America Hotel has 24 hour room service.

Should you be planning a vacation to The Philippines, and want to visit Angeles City, consider The America Hotel as being highly recommended.

Contact details are as follows.

Email: amehotel@comclark.com

Fax 0456256106

Telephone: 0453221762

0453221785

Is Podcasting The New Publishing Standard?

Blogging is the easy way to get published. It’s free and instantaneous and has taken the internet world by storm since its introduction.
Writers from all walks of life now have a platform to write on any topic that crosses their mind.
If they wish they can write anonymously, use a screen name or write under their real name.
The fact that self publishers now have strong and far reaching voices has given rise to several new mediums to satisfy the growing appetite for self publishing.
With the on flux of millions of content providers has come a strong competitive spirit to stand out from the crowd.
Most recently, Youtube has emerged as a dominant force in self promotion.

The question is being asked; is Podcasting the next big thing?

What exactly is Podcasting?
Podcasting is a collection of audio files which are distributed over the web often using subscription feeds, for playback on mp3 players and computers.

For those wanting to become media giants or those looking for a competitive edge, podasting is the logical progression.
The concept of being able to encapsulate a prerecorded podcast for streamed listening or download is simply too good of a marketing tool to ignore.

Internet marketers are using podcasting in the same way as bloggers have successfully introduced entities in the past.

What are the main advantages of podcasting?
Podcasting has the added benefit of being able to accommodate more than one voice without confusing the target audience.
Podcasting can also act as a promotional prelude for a blog or vice versa.

Itunes is the most well known software available for downloading podcasts.

Recently new challengers have emerged to distribute the ever increasing stream of podcasts.

One of the better podcast providers is Talk Shoe.

Talk Shoe is a community based podcast ring where listeners are invited to join the live discussions. The host opens the discussion and invites listeners to participate. These shows are then recorded and made available for downloading.
Content providers are using Talk Shoe to promote their service and product by providing entertaining and informative podcasts on varied topics.
Learn more about Talk Shoe and podcasting.

Has Google spelled the end of Content is King for publishers?

As they say in the advertising business, Content is king.
If you write quality original content, traffic will flow to your site and your web site will earn you money.

This has been the principle that publishers with Adsense monetized sites have faithfully adhered to, but is there a dark cloud looming on the horizon?

Google Adsense is now a mature medium and some may argue that it has peaked as an advertising power.

Google is a public company that must constantly evolve and rationalize their products in order to maintain number one position.

Through its Adsense program, it has created an empire which, up until now has provided an earnings vehicle for small and large sized business models.
Content publishers have dutifully tapped out their articles and accumulated admirable advertising revenue through their monthly paycheck from Google.

Not many have bothered to question the unwritten Google laws of Search Engine Optimization.

Recently many content publishers have awakened to a rude shock.

Google have changed their algorithms and consequently many genuine publishers have lost their search engine position in Google’s attempt to quell the upsurge in questionable search optimization techniques.
There is not much these publishers can do to re-establish their positioning.
In reality Google has no case to answer.
They provide their main search engine as a free service and consequently have the right to list sites as they see fit.
Google has also been known to inexplicably shuffle results.
Google is reluctant to explain their strategy and their algorithms are not made public.

So what has Google got planned for us?

With the success of Adwords and sponsored sites, Google must have its sights on a switch from free listings to a geographical compilation of paid classified directories.

The possibility exists that these paid directories will eventually include general blog sites as well as commercial business sites.
This will surely spell the demise for the followers of content is king.
Unless the smaller players capture a grater share of the market and create some real competition for Google, this is more of likelihood than a possibility.

The Best Value Hotel In Manila

Do you want the best value hotel in Manila?
I believe the Executive Plaza Hotel on Mabini in Ermita is the best value.
It is the best value if you book it in the right way.
Do not just walk in and expect them to quote you the best price because the walk in price is high.
If you want to pay the lowest price for a hotel in Manila you have to book it through a travel agent who has a special arrangement with the hotel.

It seems people are always telling you about the fantastic deal they got on accommodation from here there and everywhere. I have been traveling to the Philippines for many years and have stayed in a few different hotels.
Even though The Philippines is a relatively cheap country, when you are staying in the capital, things can get expensive.
Hotel accommodation is no exception.
Add to this the fact that hotel management likes to charge different prices for different classes of tourists and you find choosing a good hotel for the right price becomes a difficult task.
I remember a few years ago when I was traveling with a friend who refused to book in advance, trekking through the streets of Malate and Ermita.
We were trying to find a good deal on a few nights stay in Manila.
Not wishing to appear a wimp, I followed my friend as he inquired about the nightly rate of various hotels.
It was a tricky affair. We would see a banner outside a hotel advertising a particular promo rate only to find from the manager that there were no more rooms left at that rate, or that the rate only applied to Filipinos not foreigners.
Now that I know my way around Manila, I prefer to have my bookings arranged in advance. Over the years I have changed my preferred hotel several times, and I believe now I have got the best deal on value from using a particular method of booking.

It was about a year ago a fellow traveler put me on to this travel agent who got me a great deal on The Executive Plaza in Manila.
It works like this. You don’t have to actually go to their office. All you do is email them and once the booking is confirmed they send you a confirmation number to take to the hotel. You pay directly to the hotel.
At the time of writing this, I am paying 1850 pesos per night.
The Executive Plaza Hotel would be about a three star.
Here is the web site of the agency I book through, which is called Action Travel.

http://www.actiontravelac.com/about.html

They also have good deals on other hotels in Manila.

If you are interested in visiting another great fun town, my post on America Hotel. Best Value Hotel In Angeles City Philippines is very valuable.

Grand Theft Auto IV. Will It Step Over The Line?

Violence in video games is something that is now taken for granted by the majority of gamers and their parents.
Grand Theft Auto is a game that has been marked by controversy since it made its mark in gaming several years ago.
Grand Theft Auto differs from other violent video games is the way it mirrors the real world.
There are no cool space suits or fanciful future weapons; instead the stark realism of modern gang violence is given credibility in the entertainment genre.
In past series of Grand Theft Auto, players were encouraged to mug innocent citizens and earn extra cash in order to fund further criminal activities.
There were hookers on every corner that you could beat up and rob so you could buy yourself a cool new gold chain.
This is where GTA crosses the line.
Futuristic first person shooters are on thing, but encouraging violence against women and the indiscriminate beatings upon innocent citizens is another, especially considering the sharp increase in gang related warfare.

Will Grand Theft Auto IV continue this theme in its upcoming release?
Further Reading.
http://www.itwire.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=16568&Itemid=1092

Crysis Review. PC Games Make a Comeback

I have been playing Crysis for the last month and it is the best game I have ever played.
Crysis is a next-generation PC first-person shooter from Crytek, the award-winning developers of Far Cry.
Their engine delivers stunning graphical effects with the ultimate in DX10 gaming experience.
How does this game compare with the current batch of console games?
Xbox, Nintendo Wii, and Sony Playstation are the big players in the game console market. With their exclusive epic game releases they rule the roost, but is their reign coming to an end?

The last two years has seen the PC game market stagnate in the wake of the more popular consoles.
Developers of the PC game genre have been reluctant to fight it out in the market place,
but over the last few months there is a sense that the momentum is beginning to swing back the other way.
With computer technology once again nudging forward, software developers have upgraded their game design engines to take advantage of the latest developments.

In the case of Crisis, hardware requirements are pretty stiff, with a reccomended spec of a 2.66 Intel dual core processor, 2 meg of ram and a higher end Nividia graphics card.
If you have one of these specced up machines the effecrs are awsome.
With the right marketing, PC game developers may once again rule the earth.
The question remains.
Do they have the will and reources to take console games head on?

Grand Theft Auto IV. Will It Step Over The Line?

Follow these links to read about the two new games.
Medal of Honor and Gears of War.

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16589/532/

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/10348/1092/#jc_allComments

Thai Cosmetic Plastic Surgery

Thailand’s cosmetic plastic surgery industry has become well known in the market place.
This developing country has capitalized on its success as an icon in massage therapy and launched itself into the market of discount cosmetic surgery.

Visitors from Western countries are flocking to Thailand for cosmetic surgery treatments that they could not afford in their own country.
If you check the web you will find many sites touting the benefits of Thailand’s cosmetic surgery industry.
Thailand is well known for its gender reassignment procedures but if you just want to lessen the amount of lines on your face, Thailand’s hospitals and clinics offer many options.
Breast surgery is one of the main procedures and covers breast augmentation, breast lift and breast reduction.

Phuket and the Plastic Surgery Center

Dental surgery is also attracting many people form overseas, who experience savings of about 70% compared to prices in England or The US.
A number of these people will be considering treatment together with their vacation which makes sense given the quality of the Thai dental system and the money they save.

http://www.bumrungrad.com/overseas-medical-care/Medical-Services/Clinics-and-Centers/Plastic-Center.aspx

The most well known hospital in Thailand is the internationally accredited Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok.
The following are the procedures they are known for.
bdominoplasty
Blepharoplasty
Breast Augmentation
Breast Lift
Breast Reduction
Chin Augmentation
Face Lift
Facial Implants
Forehead Lift
Gynecomastia
Liposuction
Liposuction (Abdomen)
Liposuction (Arms)
Liposuction (Both Thighs)
Otoplasty.

No amount of plastic surgery can achieve perfection but Bumrungrad has the international reputation and respect
The feedback from patients undergoing plastic cosmetic surgery is largely positive but a word of warning.
Things can and do go wrong sometimes.
The risk increases proportionately as you compare quotes and doctors who charge less than the flagship Bumrungrad hospital.

Bluetooth mp3 player with file transfer?

Don’t expect the full Bluetooth deal on your mp3 player.

A friend of mine showed me his new ultra thin 4 gig T10 Samsung mp3 player which he had purchased recently. He mentioned that he was convinced to buy it because it had Bluetooth enabled technology.
After further examination it became evident that the Bluetooth feature was limited to being only able to use wireless headphones but not able to send and receive files via Bluetooth.
For those who had visions of transferring songs between various users and devices, I am
sorry to say, this won’t be happening any time soon.

All the big players have seen what Apple has done to maximize the potential earnings of mp3 player products. Apple with their ipod range has tapped a revenue source through users downloading of songs and videos.
Other manufacturers are keen to replicate the success of itunes.
This being the case, they are only shipping new ranges with Bluetooth stereo wireless functions and not file transfer support..
There is a second consideration. The reality of legal action being spun across the table would be a certainty, because there is too much invested in pay for download business for any such quantum development to go unnoticed.

Samsung T10 Reviewed here.
http://reviews.cnet.com/portable-audio-devices/samsung-t10-4gb-black/4505-6450_7-32588460.html

Thai Massage Parlors. Be Careful

A word of warning for tourists visiting Thai massages parlors.
I have visited many Thai massage parlors for the purpose of enjoying the therapeutic benefits of traditional Thai massage.
Reputable Thai massage parlors offer two types of massage, oil or traditional.
Oil massage tends to focus on the sensual while traditional focuses on remedial therapy.
Thai oil massage can also be remedial. A quality massage parlor will ask you if you want the oil massage to be harder or softer.
Generally, the Thai massage will be an all over affair, where the masseur works from the feet up, starting with you lying flat on your stomach.
In theory, the ritual is simple but disciplined and herein a problem arises.
Thai massage being a disciplined practice, handed down through the generations, does not always allow for flexibility.
Asians like their massages to be harder on the body, while Westerners are not used to the same treatment.
A scenario often occurs where a foreigner visits a shop only to find that the massage is more rigorous than expected.
The scenario unfolds in two ways. The visitor experiences extreme pain but does not want to feel embarrassed by complaining and instead suffers through the session.
The second possibility is that the visitor feels that the massage is a tad too hard but doesn’t think too much of it, because the pain seems mild and muddled with the more pleasurable aspects.
In the second case, sore necks and limbs manifest themselves later on. These injuries often linger for weeks.

Thai massage parlors can be disastrous. I have had dozens of massages in Thailand with varying results. I have had sore neck and feet, but mostly the experiences have been largely positive.
Some of my friends have had worse experiences.
It is important to remember that even quality massage parlors do employ students who only have basic training in Thai massage.
In summation: Do not visit a Thai massage parlor if you have any muscular problems because despite what they might claim, there is a good chance it will aggravate the injury.

Associated reading: Thai Cosmetic Plastic Surgery

MySpace. Negative Review, from a guy who used to love it.

MySpace gets a bad review from me.
I used to like MySpace but lately things have gotten out of hand. The once state of the art social networking site has become more like a toxic dumping ground for all that is evil on the net.

MySpace set the wheels in motion for its own downfall, by incorporating advanced search engine procedures allowing users to search by keyword.
This did not escape the attention of Internet marketers and spammers who constantly bombard MySpace members with spam and phony invites from porn sites.

If you listen to the plethora of new medium podcasts that focus on Internet marketing, MySpace is dragged to the fore, like a Madame would a favorite courtesan.

Add to this the recent decision of MySpace to plaster member’s pages with advertisements and you have the social networking version of Slum City.

MySpace purports to be vigilant against spammers however it has not fared well in its efforts.
Read more here.
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16173/53/

Canon IXUS 75 Review, from a guy who bought one

I was hunting around for a new camera to take overseas and I bought the Canon Ixus 75 model.
My camera had not been upgraded for about four years, so I did some research and the Canon IXUS 75 came up trumps

When I went to Ted’s Camera Stores I had a short list, and with their help I was able to arrive at my decision.
I really wanted something that would be able to shoot HD video as well as stills.
Technology has progressed to the stage that consumers are dumping video cameras in favor of pocket size still cameras that can record DVD quality movie clips.
I originally had the Canon TX1 on top of my list but sometimes the hype and new gadget euphoria exceeds the reality.
This was the case with Canon TX1.
The salesman at the store was kind enough to let me demo the TX1.
What drew me to it were the awesome specs.
The camera had a 10 times optical zoom and 7.1 mega pixels.

A 10 times optical zoom is ground breaking but unfortunately does not measure up once it is out of the box.
The salesman and I took turns but could not focus beyond 3 times zoom on the Canon.
We tried it in the shop and lighting conditions were good, however the focus was blurry beyond 3 times zoom.
Another disappointment was the viewing area. The LCD monitor was only 1.8 inches. A major disadvantage of this is that you cannot appreciate your images or videos in playback until you find a computer to replay them in a larger size.

The Canon TX1 was difficult to hold. The design is such that it is meant to be held with one hand, and the other hand used to navigate the controls.
The result was camera shake that the image stabilizer was not able to prevent.
The salesman who was assisting me in choosing between the two models seemed particularly interested because it was his first experience in actually using the Canon TX1.
After we had played with both cameras, he admitted to me that he did prefer the Canon IXUS 75.
The Canon IXUS 75 won me on the LCD playback monitor. With its lovely 3 inch LCD screen, the playback experience is maximized, especially on video.

If you transfer the videos to your computer, they are clear as a bell even played back on 10 inch a window.
The Canon fits easily into a front pocket, ideal for when that special photo opportunity arises.
It supports the newer high density SD cards. I got mine with a 4 gig card because I love using it in movie mode. Shooting movies fills up the card very quickly.

To my mind the Canon IXUS 75 is the perfect pocket size camera to take on your vacation.

Nokia and Microsoft combine for iphone killer

It was bound to happen. Microsoft and Nokia are now in discussion with regard to configuring Nokia phones with the powerful Windows Mobile software. Long regarded as best mobile OS, this system could displace Symbian as Nokia’s main platform.
This would surely give the burgeoning sales of the Apple iphone a run for its money.
Read full story.
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16510/127/

Google Phone finally emerges with a partner

Google wants to dominate the mobile phone market in the way it dominates the internet. Its successful strategy of maximizing Internet market share has them sharpening their claws for their foray into the mobile phone market. Google sees its future success in learning from their competitor Yahoo, who made the mistake of spending too much time basking in the glory of past achievements. The Open Handset Alliance and the Android cellphone platform will lead their entry into this market.

Read full story.

http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16520/1095/

New Portable Gaming Machine from Microsoft?

There has been a challenge issued to Microsoft. Can Microsoft can answer the call and develop a handheld gaming machine to rival the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP?
We are waiting to see if they can come up with a winner after their disappointing efforts with the Zune mp3 player.
Read full story here. http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16421/1092/

New ipod from apple

I should have waited but as is the case with Apple, they like to keep you guessing when it comes to new product releases.
As soon as had I settled on a lower capacity ipod Touch, Apple decided to announce newer models featuring 32 gigabyte hard drives.
For those who didn’t dive in too soon, here is the story.
http://www.itwire.com/content/view/16477/1103/

Ipaq Classic 112 PDA Review... From a guy who bought one

I recently decided to buy The Ipaq Classic 112 PDA.
It was simply too good to resist.

I suppose I should be grateful to all the cell phone manufacturers for crowding the market with smartphones, because this has caused the prices of the PDAs to tumble.

The flood of smartphones on the market has crashed the price of the dwindling range of PDAs and the newest entry from Hewlett Packard is fantastic value.

The price I paid was $350 Australian dollars. A couple of years ago I would have paid about $800 for a similar product.

The fist thing that I noticed when I picked it up was its sleek design and weight. It is much lighter than previous Ipaq models and the manufacturer has dispensed with the clunky metal finish in favor of a smarter plastic look.
The weight and size make it easy to fit in a pocket, even a front jeans pocket.
My personal lifestyle has leaned me towards having a separate PDA and cellphone
The consumer market suggests that I am in the minority, with most consumers buying Windows enabled cellphones.
I prefer two separate devices because manufacturers are making the smartphone’s screen sizes too small to be effective as a PDA.
I had an O2 Atom before I bought my Ipaq Classic and I found the screen too small for my liking.
The new Ipaq boasts a full 3.5 inch screen and that makes a huge difference in the functionality.
Cellphone manufacturers are good at making phones and Ipaq are good at making Handhelds and combining the two into one means that the quality of the phone suffers.
I have owned a succession of Windows mobile devices and the Ipaq runs Windows mobile 6, which is the latest OS from Microsoft. In my estimation there is no great difference between version 5 and 6.
HP had the common sense to opt for the standard sized SD card option, rather than the mini or micro, because the standard SD is the cheapest alternative.
If you have a collection of smaller cards, you can still use them with your Ipaq with the use of adapters.
Bluetooth and WIFI both work great.
It is very easy to use your modem equipped cellphone to create a dial up Bluetooth connection to the internet, for the times when WIFI is not available.
There is a handy one touch recording button on side for the times when you want to record a memo, but are not in a convenient position to whip out your stylus.
Battery life is a slight disappointment, with no major improvements in this area over the years.
Other than that, my advice is to buy one.

Philippines Entertainment and Nightlife

As far as a tourism is concerned, it is my opinion that The Philippines is one the most underrated countries in Asia.
I visit there regularly and over the years have become very fond of the place and people.

I am not a sightseer by nature, and though provincial areas offer some very interesting opportunities, my personal choice is to focus on Philippines entertainment in the capital of Manila.

Although The Philippines entertainment opportunities are varied and in many cases adult oriented, there is one pervading factor that makes The Philippines unique in this area.

The key factor is the overwhelming friendliness of the people.

Once you make an effort to learn a few words in their native language of Tagalog, you will be well rewarded by the warmth you will receive from The Filipinos.

Take this new found warmth and find a local bar, or karaoke joint, and I guarantee you won’t feel like an outsider.
I have had the most fun in really rundown bars. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself, grabbing the microphone for a warble after you have had a few beers.
No need to feel bashful. Even the bus drivers sing while they drive.
The Filipinos all speak English as well as Tagalog, so you will have no difficulty in joining in on conversations, and if you show them that you are interested in any part of their culture, you will be treated as a friend.
Actually I have found that because The Philippines does not get as many tourists as other parts of Asia, Filipinos love it when you talk up their country.

Manila has some great places to go. One of my favorites is The LA Café in the entertainment precinct of Malate.
Here you can find a different rock band every night, and WIFI if you want to bring your laptop while you enjoy your drink.
Many single girls hang out there, if you are looking for company.
The place is open twenty four hours, and you can pop in anytime and they will make you a snack while you surf the net.
There is no cover charge. Walk along the same street and you will find a myriad of other bars where you can sing karaoke, listen to others sing, play pool, eat and drink.
I like to get out to some of the comedy clubs where they present a mix of comedy and music.
I have used to the comedians noticing my white face among the crowd of Filipinos. They always pick on me, and it’s all good natured fun.
Everything is cheap. The drinks and the food are very affordable. You will never break the budget
Mostly I go out to these places with my Filipina friend, and during the weekend when the venues are full, we sometimes share a table with local Filipinos. Somehow it always turns out to be party and there are introductions all round and friendships made.
When the bands are on, they do their local hits, plus requests in English.
Filipinos are excellent musicians.
The custom is to write your request on piece of paper and then hand the paper with a small tip to the waiter.
He will hand it to the band and they will sing it for you.. Chances are that they will ask you your name and invite you to join in.
This can very good or very bad, depending on your talent, but it is always fun.


If you want to sample more adult oriented entertainment, then Manila will not leave you wanting with things like bikini bars, hostess bars and go-go bars.
I do not intend to go into detail about them in this post but maybe later.

Google Maps and Vacations

Vacations are exciting. Everybody wants their vacation to be memorable, fun and stress free.
As your vacation draws nearer you toss up between a couple of exotic locations.

The destinations on your short list seem so appealing but how do you know what will await you when you arrive?

Will it be everything you imagined it to be?
It might. Perhaps even more than you expected.
Your daydream is interrupted by a dark shadow of doubt and a thousand questions begin to arise.

What if the hotel is a dump?
How far is it from the beach?
Is it in a safe area?
Is it close to public transport?
Is it close to nightlife?
Is it too noisy because it’s close to nightlife?

In days gone by, you would call into your local travel agent for a glossy brochure, and a quick thumb through the pages would tell you all you needed to know.

Times have changed and all the best bargains are on the internet.
Reviews from travelers who have been there before you, offer tips and advice on destinations and accommodation.
Google maps is a great tool for fine tuning your traveling plans,

I was researching a holiday in Phuket, Thailand and I wanted to get more details about a four star hotel that someone had recommended.

Using Google maps I was able to verify the star rating of the recommended hotel.
As it turned out, the hotel was rated three stars, not four stars as had been suggested.
I could see from the map that the hotel was walking distance to the beach, but not quite two minutes from the beach. Public transport was not an issue.

The Hotel shows up on the map as being on a main road, as opposed to being located in a side street and this scored a tick from me as far as the safety aspect was concerned.

Proximity to bars, restaurants and clubs was easy to pinpoint using the map.
The large complexes visible next door to my hotel indicated that I was adjacent to shopping and nightlife.
I was now fully briefed and ready to make my booking with the help of Google maps.

Police Scam Tourists in Asia

The challenge for overseas travelers is to plan their vacations in a manner that provides flexibility in their travel, but at the same insures personal safety and security.
Travelers have enough information flowing through on the web to equip themselves with a knowledge base that will guard them against generic tourist scams.
In practice however, the ability to prevail against certain unexpected scams will boil down to resolution, courage and vigilance.
Here are some of the annoying and slightly scary things that have happened to me in my ten years of traveling in Thailand and The Philippines.
The most recent caught me completely off guard. I was arriving in Manila from an inbound flight from Bangkok. After clearing immigration and collecting my luggage, I made my way to the taxi rank situated in the international departures area. I deliberately avoid the International arrivals area because there is a mafia style operation there, where only airport taxis are allowed to collect customers, The prices they charge are about four times the real meter fare.
If you use the International arrivals taxis, you can pick up a standard meter fare. When you see the taxi drop off the the departing passengers you just ask the driver for a meter ride to your hotel.

On this occasion, I had experienced a particularly hectic day, and I did not notice that the markings on the car in the taxi rank were actually a police car. I opened the door and the diver said he would take me to my hotel for slightly above the standard meter rate.
I agreed to the price, threw my luggage in the boot and sat in the car. It was then that I realized I was sitting next to a Manila police officer. He noticed my surprise and with a silly smile on his face, told me not to worry because I was in safe hands and would deliver me to my hotel.

I was not sure what my next move should be. Cursing myself, for my lack of observation, I decided not to make a fuss and let the policeman take me to my hotel.
After a short way into the trip, he started to hassle me about the amount I should be paying for a personal escort to the hotel. I stood my ground and said I would only pay him the agreed amount.
He soon pulled into a gas station and while filling the tank, he told me that his friend would be taking me the rest of the way.
This really wasn’t getting any better. His friend got in and as soon as he was back on the highway, he started hassling me for extra money for the ride. I refused and he kept hassling all the way to the hotel.
It was an uncomfortable experience.

A week later, I was coming back from a club at about two in the morning, and the taxi I was traveling in was hailed down by a group of Quezon City Policemen.
They shone their flashlight into the cab, checked the taxi driver’s id and asked me to get out of the taxi. I was frisked and then the police asked me to produce my passport.
I had planned to photocopy my passport but never got around to it and now I found myself in a position where I had no id on me. My driver’s license was locked away in the hotel along with my passport.
I apologized to the police for my oversight but they were most unsympathetic and declared that I would have to pay a penalty.
Maybe having a couple beers in me gave me some extra courage and I knew that the police were trying to pick up some extra pocket money for the weekend, so I decided to call their bluff. I told them that they were welcome to come to my hotel, whereupon I would produce my passport for them.
When I told the head cop that I only kept the cash I would need for the night plus one credit card, he replied to me that they did not accept credit cards.
At that point, the four police seemed to lose interest and they let me go with a warning.
It is hard to believe that these things can happen, but they do.
There are plenty of fine police officers in The Philippines but when you are a white skinned foreigner, you have to accept that you may be targeted.

Using Your PDA to Blog and fight Blog Fade

Blog fade is a condition where our dedication to blogging gradually erodes to the point where we finally throw in the towel.

This unhappy situation is caused by two main factors.

The inability to plan upcoming posts.
The lack of time available to the blogger.

I have found a very productive piece of hardware that I use to fight the negative forces of blog fade.

The tool I am talking about is my PDA and my choice of PDA is The Ipaq classic 112 made by HP.
How does this help me produce a quality blog?
Firstly, one of the secrets of creative writing is to be able to capture the ideas and story outlines for your blog, as soon as they are formed in your mind.
I keep my PDA in with me at all times. The model I have is slim and light so it fits snugly in any pocket.
Whenever I come up with an idea for a post, I immediately make a note of it on the Ipaq. And I do that by either using the QWERTY keyboard overerlay or by using the voice recorder function.
The voice recorder comes in handy when I am walking or doing something that demands attention and is preventing me from taking the time to whip out the stylus.
Later when I have more time, I play back the voice files and begin outlining the major points in my notes file.
If I have sufficient time before I get back to my home office, I start to detail the points into a full post.
Productivity is maximized in situations like train journeys or the idle minutes while you wait for a client to show up.

When the day’s work is done and you are back in front of your computer, you Bluetooth your notes over to the pc and instead of being faced with writers block and a blank page, you are presented with a rough draft of your post.

Using your Asus and cellphone for internet connectivity.

The thought of not having a twenty four hour internet connection available when you are traveling can be a frightening thought for some.
Different time zones may mean the weary business traveler setting the alarm clock for three in the morning, in order to communicate with his associates in another part of the world.
These differing time zones, rule out the total reliance on internet cafés, whose trading hours do not necessarily coincide with those of time strapped business traveler.

In some countries modems are standard in many hotels, but this is not the norm and the traveler is left to traverse the nocturnal streets of a strange city looking to connect.

There is a better way.

When I travel to Thailand with my Asus eee, I pack my Nokia E61 which has a modem built into its hardware.
I have the Asus bluetoothed to the Nokia and this gives me a GPRS connection to the Web.
It may not be the fastest connection but it does the job when there is no hotel modem or WIFI available. The good part is that there is no other hardware to buy. All you need is your modem equipped cell phone.

One of the smartest things I did was visiting the head office of the phone company whose sim card I use when in Thailand. In my case it was Dtac and their representative installed the dial up configuration for me and also put me on a user friendly internet plan that didn’t break the bank.
I would recommend that anyone trying to set up a connection such as this should visit their sim card provider’s head office for personalized configuration.

Best Value Budget Pattaya Hotel. From a guy who stays there

Hotel stays can be a hit or miss affair. Reviews can be misleading and online deals are not always the best value.
That is why I prefer to take my advice from reviewers who stay in the hotels they review and recommend.
I love going to Pattaya. Despite its seedy reputation, Pattaya is a great side trip option from Bangkok.
The beach in Pattaya is not the best beach in the world but the hotels that surround Pattaya have great pools, so the beach can be best used for strolling on the promenade.
I have visited Pattaya about thirty times and whenever I happen to pass by a hotel that someone has mentioned to me, I ask to see the room and ask what the rate is.
As the saying goes, you don’t get something for nothing, but you can still get a good deal on a Pattaya hotel.
Even though I have inspected many other hotels in the same price range, some being more expensive too, I have not found one that compares.
The one I choose to stay in is The Intown Holiday Hotel. It is located in Soi 10 in South Pattaya. The street is also known as Soi Honey.
Let me give you a tip for you if you decide to stay there. Don’t bother with the breakfast. There are much better breakfasts within walking distance of the hotel.

The rooms in the Intown Holiday Hotel are large and each one has a balcony. There are two elevators. It may seem strange to mention the elevators but there are many budget hotels that do not provide elevators.

The average price of the room is rate is about 600 baht which is less than $20 US.

This price does vary upwardly in the high season.

The Hotel employees are a quiet lot but honest and efficient, and I see the same people working there year after year, which is always a good sign.
Security guards patrol the floors during the night time, and security boxes are provided for the guests on request.
The top floor features a nice pool and guests are allowed to invite their friends for a swim.
At various times of the year, this hotel is fully booked, so I make it a practice to ring them for a firm booking.
They are busy so they don’t bother much with returning email inquiries.
One other thing, they don’t accept credit cards.
I won’t waste your time giving you their email because they probably won’t answer you.
If you decide you want to book in advance just call them
6638420696

Asus Eee pc review from a guy who bought one

When I travel to Thailand I make it a habit of visiting Pantip Plaza in Bangkok to see what’s new in technology.

If you are into tech, and have traveled to Thailand you would have most certainly have heard of Pantip Plaza.
This tech complex is a five story shopping mall which rivals any similar mall in Asia.


When I was there last time, I noticed the Asus Eee ultra portable laptop on sale in many of the stores, so I thought I would avail myself of the opportunity to see it in operation.

My first impression was positive. The machine looked so light and well designed.

Was this just the thing I had been searching for?

I had wanted an ultra portable machine that I could take overseas instead of dragging my full size laptop. With this machine my dilemma of should I or should I not pack my laptop may now be resolved.

What caught my eye was that one of the larger stores had it running, but had uninstalled the Linux operating system and instead had installed Windows XP.

I have to admit, seeing it running Windows XP really made my head turn, because although I have nothing against The Linux operating system, the version of Linux software that came with the Asus seemed too basic.

Seeing it run so efficiently with XP had raised its stature considerably.

Firstly I noticed how quickly it booted up. Certainly not any slower than my Acer which has a dual core processor and two gigabytes of ram.
The Asus managed to run Windows XP even with its meager internal storage space of 4 gigabytes. It does come with 512 meg ram.

After you install Windows XP and Microsoft Office you are still left with about 1.5 gigabytes of free storage, but add to this your Itunes, Yahoo Messenger, Limewire and other favorites and you are out of space.

So how did it run?
As far as handling the demands of Windows operating system, I could not detect any obvious problems, but because the screen is a 7 inch LCD, you will have to get used to scrolling up and down and across the page of the browser to read all the content.
I have it on good advice that the Asus will not run efficiently on Vista. If you are satisfied with running XP then keep it on your list.
The keyboard is something you will have to get used to. Personally I am not fast typist and if you are like me and a two finger typist it will do the job just fine.
The product designers had the good sense to package it with a charger that is not any bigger than a phone charger.

Skype users will be pleased to know that the Asus is equipped with a webcam and microphone, making it a powerful global communication tool.

When you are off the road, plug in an external monitor and full size keyboard and your Asus doubles as your desktop pc.

The first thing you will need to do if you buy the Asus is to purchase an sd card and keep it in the SD slot on a permanent basis. I bought a two gig SD card for about twenty dollars, after learning that the pc does not support the newer SD high capacity cards. This is clearly an oversight.

The extra SD card will allow you to keep the rest of your applications on board and forms the balance of your hard drive. A flash usb flash drive can be used to store your documents folders.
The Asus does not have Bluetooth which is a nuisance. I did however pick up a Bluetooth usb adapter for about $7 which made me wonder why they didn’t include it in the hardware.

The WIFI works fine and really comes into its own on The Asus. The portability factor makes it so easy to carry with you at all times, so when you find a WIFI point you can quickly connect.
Cutting to the chase. What is the Asus really good for?
I did end up paying $400 AUD for it in Thailand and I think it is worth the money, but with the rapidly declining prices of full size laptops on the market, the Asus falls in to a niche market.
The fact is that you can get a more powerful laptop for about $100 more which will give you more processing power and a bigger hard drive than the Asus.

If you are considering the purchase of the Asus, my advice would be to buy it if you want a basic machine that is as easy to carry as a paperback.
Add a SD card, USB flash reader, USB Bluetooth and you have the perfect alternative to a PDA that costs about the same.
This is just the thing for the consumer who is sick of carrying his laptop around all day and wants a better solution.

If Real Estate is position, position, position, then the Asus is portability, portability, portability.

Using your Asus and cellphone for internet connectivity.